Positives To Take

Alexander Kačaniklić believes Fulham can take pride from their spirited display at the Emirates on Saturday.

The Whites did well to frustrate Arsenal for long periods, but the Barclays Premier League leaders nabbed the points courtesy of Santi Cazorla’s quick-fire brace in the second half.

Fulham could actually have gone into half-time in front were it not for the reflexes of Wojciech Szczesny who denied Steve Sidwell a fourth goal in as many games, while Kačaniklić felt he could have done better when he was sent in on goal.

“I had one decent chance but I took a bit of a heavy touch,” he admitted. “Before then, Siddy had a shot – it was a great strike which produced a great save so that was unlucky. But when you create those chances, you need to score.

“I think if you look at the first half, we did really well. We kept the ball, we frustrated them and their fans, we played with a lot of confidence and we created a few chances. But you need to take those chances when you come to the Emirates.

“Then, second half, they came on to us even more and started to get possession outside of our box, played some one-twos and began to create chances. And so, eventually, they scored.”

The defeat leaves the Whites sitting 17th in the table – one point ahead of the three teams who occupy the relegation zone – but when asked if he was confident his side would avoid the drop, Kačaniklić stated: “Yes. The way we’ve been playing the last few weeks, and on Saturday at times, we’re playing well and creating chances. There are lots of positives to take.”

Kačaniklić has been a regular fixture in the side of late, featuring in nine of the 11 games played since René Meulensteen took over First Team duties.

And while the Sweden international is pleased with his run in the team, he conceded that results must improve, starting in Sunday’s FA Cup with Budweiser clash at Sheffield United.

“Since the new manager has come in I’ve played a lot of games so I’m very happy,” he said. “I was relatively pleased with my own performance against Arsenal but unfortunately we didn’t get anything from the game as a team.

“That’s something that we know we have to improve on and we have a chance to do that at the weekend at Sheffield. It’s always good to play in the up – it’s an exciting tournament and we’re looking forward to the game.”